Water is very important for the life of man, animals as well as vegetation. Therefore additional care needs to be take care to conserve water. Rain harvesting is a traditional method of collecting and storing rain water for future use. There is a lot of talk about rain water harvesting and how beneficial it is. This is a method which has been used right from the ancient times.

There is an increase in demand for water due to urbanization and the surface water is inadequate and hence the dependence on ground water has increased. The infiltration of rain water into the soil has diminished the level of ground water and hence rain harvesting is becoming increasingly important. The water obtained through rain harvesting can be used for bathing, cleaning, and gardening. The water collected from these roof tops cannot be used for drinking purposes unless there is a proper purification method in place. However there are instances where rainwater is used for drinking also by following a suitable treatment.

One of the most common ways of rain harvesting is through a roof top system where the rainwater is directed to rain water containers or tanks, by using simple utensils. A new concept in rain harvesting is recharge to ground water where pits, dug wells, trenches etc are used to store water. Underground storage tanks are built along with the building construction. These rainwater containers can be buried in the ground or located in the basement.

Either of these technologies can be used as these are not very expensive, and they are very simple to use. Rainwater harvesting is something that can be easily taught to the local people. However the choice of the technology depends on the regional factors. This technology has very few negative environmental impacts.

We can ensure continuous water supply by adopting rain harvesting and reduce the impact on environment. There are very instances of illness occurring due to rainwater supply; hence it can be a very safe method of water conservation for the future, as water is the most important thing that we need to pass on to the future generations.